Apr 17 Book review - Miss Moon: Wise Words from a Dog Governess

Published in January 2016, this book shares twenty lessons to live by whether you're a canine, child or adult.

Themes: Life lessons, Family, Imagination

Story: Miss Moon, the dog governess, is the nanny everyone wishes they had as a child--firm yet fanciful. Residing on a small French isle with her pet bulldog and monkey, Miss Moon has 67 canines in her care. The book is a collection of the twenty most important life lessons she endeavors to impart to her canine charges, from the familiar 'practice makes perfect' to the more whimsical, 'the impossible can become possible with a little creativity.'

Rhythm: There's a few paragraphs of introduction at the beginning of the book and a class picture at the end. Otherwise each page spread contains a lesson--often presented with only one line of text--accompanied by a drawing. The brevity of the lessons work in this context, although I would have liked to learn more about the characters. The class picture makes me wonder...is this just the beginning of Miss Moon's adventures?

Illustrations: Janet Hill's illustrations hearken back to an earlier era of formality with Miss Moon donned in a long black dress with lace trim. Each drawing reinforces the life lesson being conveyed with a humorous twist. For instance, the drawing that accompanies 'Respect the property of others' shows Miss Moon chiding one of the dogs for vandalizing a painting with a heart-laced profession of love.

Nuts and Bolts: It takes me about six minutes to read this book to my daughter, including the introduction. There are 48 pages total with an average of one sentence (life lesson) per page. The targeted age range is 4-8 years old.